Tang lay propped up on his hospital bed, having weathered many storms in his life. He was about to undergo surgery soon and couldn’t afford to get angered. He needed to contain his temper, so he remained silent throughout.
Until Jiang Jinsang walked in, and he smiled, "Xiaowu is here."
"Uh-huh," Jiang Jinsang nodded, taking in everyone in the room.
With the old man’s hospital bed as the dividing line, Wang Li and those reporters were on one side, while Tang Wan and Zhou Zhongqing and others stood opposed.
"Have you finished all your tests?" Zhou Zhongqing sized him up.
Jiang Jinsang walked straight to Tang Wan, protecting her behind him as if creating an impenetrable barrier.
Wang Li had never encountered such a sharp-tongued girl before. He was so furious that he couldn’t breathe properly, his chest heaving as he glared at her, only to unexpectedly meet a pair of eyes as cold and dismissive as frostbitten steel.
He shuddered, his body growing cold.
His skin was pale, as if devoid of blood and warmth, and even his gaze was as cold as ice.
"Mr. Wang, do you know how many years you’ll have to sit inside for spreading rumors and slander?" The voice of Jiang Jinsang was measured and deliberate.
Tang Wan’s comment had already exposed his true colors, and Wang Li, feeling guilty, could only respond by shouting hoarsely with a flushed neck.
"What rumor-spreading? I find that you people just love to spout nonsense!"
Jiang Jinsang chuckled,
"The incident is already spreading online, and we won’t even mention the hospital matter for now. Just the part about you claiming to give rich people a ’green channel’ -- do you think that doesn’t constitute defamation of character?"
"Taking a bit of money from someone and think you can say whatever in front of reporters without taking responsibility?"
"If someone was intent on suing you, based on the losses caused, it’s likely that unless there are millions or tens of millions involved, this matter couldn’t be settled privately."
Upon hearing these words, Wang Li immediately panicked.
A person who scrimped and struggled with mere hundreds for his mother’s medical expenses, upon hearing the possibility of having to pay millions in compensation, his pupils trembled, "This has nothing to do with me! I merely said a few words; why should I pay for it."
"How does it not concern you? If today the old master can’t take the stress and something happens, you’ll also have to bear the subsequent medical expenses!"
Jiang Jinsang was adept at hitting where it hurt. The very reason Wang Li caused trouble in the hospital to begin with was to avoid paying medical bills, showing utter shamelessness for small sums of money, let alone dealing with millions.
His eyes grew wild with panic, and suddenly he turned to Zhuang Rao, "Miss, this isn’t what we discussed earlier!"
"What the hell are you looking at me for!"
Zhuang Rao instantly panicked when he turned to face her.
"This was your idea! If they really sue me, you’ll have to pay up!"
"What are you talking about, when did I tell you to do anything!" Zhuang Rao was completely thrown off upon hearing this and looked to Jiang Jinsang, "Master Wu, please don’t believe his nonsense. This has nothing to do with me; I don’t know anything."
"It was you who told me to say those things in front of them; you can’t deny it now!"
Tang Wan had long suspected someone was behind Wang Li, but she hadn’t anticipated how easily duped he would be; Jiang Jinsang barely mentioned compensation, and he immediately implicated Zhuang Rao.
"Mr. Tang, Master Wu, I really knew nothing about this; he’s making it all up!"
Zhuang Rao had not expected Wang Li to be so foolish to believe Jiang Jinsang’s bluff.
"Isn’t it quite a coincidence for Miss Zhuang to be here today?" Tang Wan said with a smile.
"I came to visit the sick. I visited once before, but you weren’t here. I wanted to apologize for what happened before. See, I even bought fruit and flowers. I don’t know this man at all!"
Zhuang Rao wasn’t stupid; naturally, she was desperate to disassociate herself from the situation.
"Visiting the sick, huh," murmured Tang Wan with a light laugh, "You haven’t shown up for quite some time, and your timing today is so coincidental, anyone would think you deliberately chose it to watch the drama unfold."
Zhuang Rao suddenly stiffened.
Indeed, she had timed her visit to watch the drama; her petty tricks laid bare, her facial expression became indecipherable, while the people in the room also began to notice something amiss.
Zhuang Rao was too foolish. With any intelligence, she wouldn’t have been used as a pawn by Jiang Shuyan before.
Her actions were too traceable.
She couldn’t hide them and everything piled up, visible on her face.
"I truly came just to visit the sick," Zhuang Rao said, growing more flustered, particularly when she saw the entrance blocked by Jiang Jiu, who was wearing sunglasses, making it impossible to read his expression.
And having been physically confronted by Jiang Jiu before, she felt instinctively weak in the knees at the sight of him.
"Hey, do you not want to pay up? Let me tell you, if I go down, you won’t get off easy either!" Wang Li was a ruffian at heart.